9 New Things To Do & Eat In San Francisco This Week

Between keeping your plants watered, hanging out with people you haven’t seen since 2019, and catching up on Zaila Avant-garde’s long list of accomplishments, you’ve probably been pretty busy. So chances are, you haven’t been keeping track of the new openings, pop-ups, and special events happening in SF. That’s where we come in - here are nine exciting new things to add to your calendar.

Ferry Fridays

This summer (through September 24th), the Ferry Building will host live music on their spacious back plaza on Fridays from 3-6pm. So it’s the perfect excuse to head over and enjoy fresh bread, oysters, empanadas, coffee, and more from the Ferry Building’s merchants, along with music and waterfront views.

photo credit: Lillian Brauner

Highwire Coffee X Craftsman and Wolves

Nothing turns around a truly sh*tty morning quite like some really good coffee and a pastry. And now you’ve got a new option: this week, Highwire Coffee started offering pastries by Craftsman and Wolves out of all their locations. Stop by and grab an espresso drink and a croissant, or the Rebel Within muffin with sausage and a whole egg in the middle.

Magnolia Mini Mart & Oakland’s Chinatown Pop-Up Market & Fundraiser

On Saturday, July 17th, Magnolia Mini Mart and Oakland’s Chinatown are teaming up to raise money to provide security cameras to businesses in Chinatown. From 12-5pm, head over to the parking lot of the Oakland Tribune and check out local food and retail vendors (including Noodle Belly and Pleasure Principle Dining Events), along with live music and a raffle. Tickets are $5, and available here.

Samin’s Summer Pizza at Square Pie Guys

Our favorite spot for Detroit-style pizzas just added this new collab to their summer menu: Samin’s Summer Pie. Developed by chef Samin Nosrat, the pizza comes with confit tomatoes, Calabrian chiles, garlic cream, and a Mama Lil’s pepper drizzle - and it’s available at both the SF and Oakland locations. 5% of all proceeds will go to the Cooperative Food Empowerment Directive.

Cafe Okawari

In case you missed it, we just dropped a guide to six of our favorite spots for Japanese curry - and one of them just reopened for indoor dining for the first time since the pandemic hit. Now, you can take a seat inside Cafe Okawari’s dining room or at the bar, and enjoy a bowl of silky-smooth curry, or a perfect chicken katsu sandwich. The SoMa spot is open Monday through Friday, 10:30am-7:30pm.

Sunset Squares Slice Shop

Less than two weeks after opening their SoMa beer hall, Sunset Squares Pizza expanded yet again - this time with a slice shop in NoPa. They have slices of both their square and thin-crust pizzas, both made with sourdough, along with salads, wings, and fries. As an added bonus, they’re open until 2:30am on Fridays, just in case the late-night craving hits.

Barrio

Barrio just opened a second location in Ghirardelli Square - and it’s bigger than the one in North Beach and has waterfront views. There’s also a full bar focusing on agave spirits, plus a similar menu of blue corn tortilla tacos (the new spot also has fish tacos and ceviche, too). They’re open daily for lunch and dinner, plus weekend brunch.

My Friend Fernando

Torta pop-up My Friend Fernando is popping up at Sister in Oakland on Sunday, July 18th from 5pm-sold out. In addition to tortas filled with things like hot pork Milanesa or roasted hen of the woods mushrooms with mole, there’ll be conchas by Astranda Bakery, one of our favorite pandemic-born pop-ups.

Sprinkle Kindness

On Sunday, July 18, one San Francisco ice cream shop is teaming up with GoFundMe for an ice cream giveaway. This shop received donations to stay afloat during the pandemic, and is offering a free scoop of a new, limited-edition flavor called Sprinkle Kindness to show their gratitude. The shop is Joe’s Ice Cream in the Richmond. The ice cream is available all day while supplies last.